Authentic Proofs of Eleven Rakats Tarawih in Ramadan

This excerpt is taken from the book A Research Review of the Number of Rak‘ahs of Qiyām Ramaḍān, authored by the contemporary ḥadīth scholar Shaykh Zubair ʿAlī Za’ī رحمه الله.

Evidence No. ①​

❀ It is narrated from Umm al-Mu’minīn Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها that:

كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يصلي فيما بين أن يفرغ من صلاة العشاء وهى التى يدعو الناس العتمة إلى الفجر إحدي عشرة ركعة يسلم بين كل ركعتين ويوتر بواحدة

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would pray eleven rak‘ahs between completing the ʿIshā’ prayer— which the people call al-ʿAtamah— and Fajr. He would give salām after every two rak‘ahs and perform Witr with one (rak‘ah).”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 736

Evidence No. ②​

❀ Abū Salamah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān asked Umm al-Mu’minīn Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها:

“What was the (night) prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ like in Ramaḍān?”

She replied:

ما كان يزيد فى رمضان ولا فى غيره على إحدي عشرة ركعة

“Whether in Ramaḍān or outside of Ramaḍān, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ never prayed more than eleven rak‘ahs.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2013 – ʿUmdat al-Qārī: 11/128

An Objection​

This ḥadīth relates to Tahajjud, not Tarāwīḥ.

Answer​

Tahajjud, Tarāwīḥ, Qiyām al-Layl, Qiyām Ramaḍān, and Witr are different names for the same prayer.

✔ Proof ①
It is not established from the Prophet ﷺ that he prayed Tahajjud and Tarāwīḥ separately.

✔ Proof ②
The Imāms of ḥadīth have placed chapters of Qiyām Ramaḍān and Tarāwīḥ under the ḥadīth of Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها, for example:

◈ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:
Book of Fasting → Book of Tarāwīḥ → Chapter: Virtue of One Who Observes Qiyām Ramaḍān

◈ Muwaṭṭaʾ of Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī, p. 141:
باب قيام شهر رمضان وما فيه من الفضل

◈ Mullā ʿAbd al-Ḥayy Lakhnawī wrote in its commentary:

قوله، قيام شهر رمضان ويسمى التراويح
“Qiyām of Ramaḍān is called Tarāwīḥ.”

◈ al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī:
Chapter on the number of rak‘ahs of Qiyām in Ramaḍān.

✔ Proof ③
No muḥaddith or faqīh among the followers ever claimed that this ḥadīth does not relate to Tarāwīḥ.

✔ Proof ④
This ḥadīth has been presented by many scholars as evidence against the fabricated and rejected narration of twenty rak‘ahs, such as:

◈ al-Zaylaʿī al-Ḥanafī
◈ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī
◈ Ibn al-Humām al-Ḥanafī
◈ al-ʿAynī al-Ḥanafī
◈ al-Suyūṭī and others

✔ Proof ⑤
The questioner asked only about Qiyām Ramaḍān, not Tahajjud. Yet Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها explained both Ramaḍān and non-Ramaḍān prayers, proving that Tarāwīḥ consisted of eleven rak‘ahs.

✔ Proof ⑥
Those who claim Tahajjud and Tarāwīḥ are separate prayers assert that the Prophet ﷺ prayed 23 rak‘ahs of Tarāwīḥ and 11 rak‘ahs of Tahajjud in one night. This implies two Witrs in one night, which contradicts the ḥadīth:

لا وتران فى ليلة
“There are not two Witrs in one night.”

Reference: at-Tirmidhī: 470 – Abu Dāwūd: 1439 – an-Nasā’ī: 1678 – Ṣaḥīḥ

✔ Proof ⑦
Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī (Deobandī) admitted that Tahajjud and Tarāwīḥ are the same prayer.

Reference: Fayḍ al-Bārī: 2/420 – al-ʿArf al-Shadhī: 1/166

✔ Proof ⑧
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه also regarded Tahajjud and Tarāwīḥ as one prayer.

Reference: Fayḍ al-Bārī: 2/420

✔ Proof ⑨
Several scholars prohibited praying Tahajjud after Tarāwīḥ, proving both are the same prayer.

Reference: Qiyām al-Layl by al-Marwazī

✔ Proof ⑩
The narration of Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh رضي الله عنه stating that the Prophet ﷺ prayed eight rak‘ahs and Witr in Ramaḍān further supports this.

That makes ten complete proofs.

Evidence No. ③​

❀ Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه narrated:

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led us in prayer during Ramaḍān with eight rak‘ahs and Witr.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 1070 – Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān: 2401, 2406

(Extensive scholarly discussion follows proving the authenticity of this narration and refuting objections regarding its narrators.)

Evidence No. ④​

❀ Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه said:

“I prayed eight rak‘ahs and Witr in Ramaḍān and informed the Prophet ﷺ, and he did not object—so it became an approved Sunnah.”

Reference: Musnad Abī Yaʿlā: 1801 – Majmaʿ al-Zawā’id: 2/74

Evidence No. ⑤​

❀ ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه instructed Ubayy ibn Kaʿb and Tamīm al-Dārī رضي الله عنهما to lead the people in eleven rak‘ahs.

Reference: Muwaṭṭaʾ Mālik: 249 – al-Bayhaqī: 2/496

This report is authentically established through numerous sources.

Evidence No. ⑥​

❀ al-Sā’ib ibn Yazīd رضي الله عنه said:

“We used to pray eleven rak‘ahs during the time of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه.”

Reference: Muṣannaf Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr

Imām al-Suyūṭī said this narration has an extremely authentic chain.

Evidence No. ⑦​

❀ In Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah:

“ʿUmar gathered the people behind Ubayy and Tamīm, and they used to pray eleven rak‘ahs.”

Reference: Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 7670

Evidence No. ⑧​

❀ Twenty rak‘ahs of Tarāwīḥ are not authentically established from the Prophet ﷺ.

Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī admitted:

وأما عشرون ركعة فهو عنه عليه السلام بسند ضعيف وعلي ضعفه اتفاق
“The narration of twenty rak‘ahs from the Prophet ﷺ is weak, and there is consensus on its weakness.”

Reference: al-ʿArf al-Shadhī: 1/166

Evidence No. ⑨​

❀ Twenty rak‘ahs are not authentically established from ʿUmar رضي الله عنه with a connected chain.

Evidence No. ⑩​

❀ Twenty rak‘ahs are not authentically established from any Companion with a sound connected chain.

Conclusion​

✔ Eleven rak‘ahs of Qiyām Ramaḍān (Tarāwīḥ) are the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and the practice of the Companions.

❀ Imām Abū Bakr ibn al-ʿArabī said:

والصحيح أن يصلي إحدي عشرة ركعة صلاة النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم و قيامه فأما غير ذلك من الأعداد فلا أصل له

“The correct view is to pray eleven rak‘ahs—this was the prayer and standing of the Prophet ﷺ. Any other number has no basis.”

Reference: ʿĀriḍat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/19

❀ Imām Mālik رحمه الله said:

“I choose eleven rak‘ahs for Qiyām Ramaḍān, the same upon which ʿUmar gathered the people, and it was the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I do not know where people introduced these many rak‘ahs from.”

Reference: Kitāb al-Tahajjud: 176

✔ Thus, the claim of consensus on twenty rak‘ahs is false and invalid.